King for a Night—In conjunction with the Taos Picture Show, taking place this very weekend, the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill will present a special screening of the film King of the Corner on Friday, April 1. The film's director/writer/star, Peter Riegert, will attend a Q&A session after each screening. (Screenings begin at 5 and 7:30 p.m.) Riegert started out as an actor in the classic comedy Animal House (where he played Boon), and went on to appear in more than 50 films, including Local Hero, Crossing Delancey, Infinity and Traffic. King of the Corner represents his first feature-filmmaking effort. A deadpan social comedy is based on Gerald Shapiro's book Bad Jews and Other Stories, the film paints a chaotic portrait of a middle-aged man (Riegert) who must deal with a dying father, a precocious daughter, an impatient wife and a tempting old flame. The cast is stocked with ringers like Eli Wallach, Isabella Rossellini, Beverly D'Angelo, Rita Moreno and Eric Bogosian. Riegert's previous directing effort, a short film called “The Courier,” was nominated for an Academy Award. Tickets for this special event will go quickly. The Guild Cinema is located at 3405 Central NE (255-1848).

Taos Picture Show returns

By Devin D. O'Leary

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then repetition is the surest sign of success. Following the triumph of last year's inaugural outing, the Taos Picture Show returns March 31 through April 3 with another fine selection of features, documentaries and short subjects from around the world.

Guns and Poses

By Devin D. O'Leary

Here's a little quiz to determine how receptive you'll be to the new film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. When confronted with the following joke, how do you respond? FBI agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) has been told that a suspect looks like Dolly Parton. While in a Las Vegas casino, she spots a short, blonde woman exactly matching that description. Gracie gives frantic chase, weaving in and out of the casino for five whole minutes screaming, “Stop, fake Dolly Parton! Somebody stop that fake Dolly!” Eventually, Gracie tackles her quarry, at which point it is revealed that the suspect is—surprise, surprise—the real Dolly Parton. At that point, do you say, A) “Ha, ha. Man, I knew it was gonna be Dolly Parton. I just had this feeling and then—bam!—there she is, the real Dolly Parton. Ha, ha. Genius.” Or do you say, B) “Wow, a badly telegraphed joke and a lame celebrity cameo. This is gonna be a long two hours.”

“Project Greenlight” on Bravo

By Devin D. O'Leary

In their move from HBO to Bravo, “Project Greenlight” creators Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and, uh ... the other nonfamous guy decided it was time to go commercial. The first two seasons of the moviemaking reality show produced two dreary coming-of-age dramas, The Battle Of Shaker Heights and Stolen Summer, neither of which made the slightest ripple at the box office. For the third season, then, it was decided to move from prestigious Oscar-generating indie studio Miramax (Shakespeare in Love, Chicago) to cheapjack genre filmmakers Dimension (Dracula 2000, Darkness). The purpose: to create an inexpensive box office hit.

The Week in Sloth

Thursday 31

“Tru Calling” (KASA-2 7 p.m.) Eliza Dushku continues to talk to dead people in the two-hour season premiere of her supernatural drama--appropriate since the show is probably DOA.

Friday 1

“Battlestar Galactica” (Sci-Fi 8 p.m.) The season comes to a dramatic end with the humans making a bold ploy to free the planet Kobol from Cylon tyranny. ... Well, the nerds know what I'm talking about anyway.